Lifting the fairing does not seem to me nearly as challenging as catching one on the fly.

True, but ironically, the same helicopter that can catch a fairing may not be able to take off with one...

Fuel weight is a big deal for helicopters in long range operations.

Also, the weight you can carry while move forward is higher than what you can carry while hovering, so a helicopter may grab a fairing, and actually not be able to set it down, until later, when it burned off the rest of its fuel.

Ah, but at sea level you get more lift than at whatever altitude they'll be catching them at. But then Florida air may be warmer. Helicopters are a pain in the a**.

If helicopters are out of the question, the only feasible alternative that I can think of is parachuting down onto a huge inflatable raft. But it really would need to be impressively large- precision airdrops are only 50m accurate and I'm sure that's with a relatively dense and sturdy crate as cargo, not a big floppy fairing half that catches the wind and probably needs a low impact speed.

You have to wonder how they would then retrieve the fairing from within the raft, which would need to be very soft to act as any kind of a cushion.

The fact that CCAFS is an air force base should fare well for helicopters catching fairings

Specifically, CCAFS and the 920th Rescue Wing (HC-130P, HH-60G) are both headquartered at nearby Patrick AFB.

Yeah, but it's not like SpaceX is going to use military assets to recover fairings.

Yeah, but that part of FL is pretty nice to live in, and ex Air Force helo drivers[1] that are hot shots might be fairly easy to find around there since they might want to retire there after 20 in the AF and out... So kind of using military SURPLUS assets, as it were.

"I think it would be great to be born on Earth and to die on Mars. Just hopefully not at the point of impact." -Elon Musk"We're a little bit like the dog who caught the bus" - Musk after CRS-8 S1 successfully landed on ASDS OCISLY

Lifting the fairing does not seem to me nearly as challenging as catching one on the fly.

True, but ironically, the same helicopter that can catch a fairing may not be able to take off with one...

Fuel weight is a big deal for helicopters in long range operations.

Also, the weight you can carry while move forward is higher than what you can carry while hovering, so a helicopter may grab a fairing, and actually not be able to set it down, until later, when it burned off the rest of its fuel.

Ah, but at sea level you get more lift than at whatever altitude they'll be catching them at. But then Florida air may be warmer. Helicopters are a pain in the a**.

Just fitted an inflight refueling kit on the helicopter. So it isn't carrying a lot of fuel during the recovery, then top up after recovery.

Chris Whoever loves correction loves knowledge, but he who hates reproof is stupid.

To the maximum extent practicable, the Federal Government shall plan missions to accommodate the space transportation services capabilities of United States commercial providers. US law http://goo.gl/YZYNt0

ignoring all the cons, would in-air recovery be the least stressful option on the fairing structure? or does it not even have that going for it?

US armed forces and CIA use the Fulton surface-to-air recovery system to pick up people from the ground without landing. An agent behind enemy lines launches a balloon with a line attached to it. A C-130 flies over, snatches the line and then reels in the agent. By using a long line, the acceleration load on the agent was limited, "the person being picked up experienced less of a shock than during a parachute opening."

So even with a fixed-wing aircraft, this recovery method can be made survivable for humans and other fragile loads.

Not to state the obvious too much but since fairings come in halves all these special operations have to be done twice and simultaneously. This makes catching it look daunting. Two barges, two landing pads, two refuelling ops, two specialist pilots. How close could the Heli's get to each other? And what happens if you only catch one, how useful would it be without its partner?

Not to state the obvious too much but since fairings come in halves all these special operations have to be done twice and simultaneously. This makes catching it look daunting. Two barges, two landing pads, two refuelling ops, two specialist pilots. How close could the Heli's get to each other? And what happens if you only catch one, how useful would it be without its partner?

Yup, from day one, the helicopter side seems very very difficult.

Unless they are unmanned, it pushes every edge of the envelope, and as you point out, including safety.

After some thinking. Maybe SX will just added a parachute with radar transponder and some floatation devices to the PLF. Then fished the 2 PLF halves out of the water with a crane. Might need a couple of spotter aircraft to tracked the PLF descends and maintained visual contact until recovery assets are on the scene.

After some thinking. Maybe SX will just added a parachute with radar transponder and some floatation devices to the PLF. Then fished the 2 PLF halves out of the water with a crane. Might need a couple of spotter aircraft to tracked the PLF descends and maintained visual contact until recovery assets are on the scene.

Sounds reasonable but Gwynne Shotwell said in her LC-39A interview that they don't want the fairing to get wet. Which surprised me somewhat.

After some thinking. Maybe SX will just added a parachute with radar transponder and some floatation devices to the PLF. Then fished the 2 PLF halves out of the water with a crane. Might need a couple of spotter aircraft to tracked the PLF descends and maintained visual contact until recovery assets are on the scene.

Sounds reasonable but Gwynne Shotwell said in her LC-39A interview that they don't want the fairing to get wet. Which surprised me somewhat.

Encapsulate just before splash down? Somewhat like the mars rovers.

Or is it possible to use the gliding shape of the half fairing to slow down speed enough to splash down real gently. Maby with the use of droge chutes for stability and if needed main chutes to slow down even further